General Information
Primary Commodities: copper, gold, silver
Aliases: Whitehorse Copper
Deposit Type(s): Skarn
Location(s): 60.723930 N, -135.175660 W
NTS Mapsheet(s): 105D11
Hand Samples Available at YGS: No
Capsule
The Whitehorse Copper Belt is located west of Whitehorse and contains 30+ mines, deposits and showings. Many of the occurrences in the Copper Belt are skarns. The skarns form on or near the contact between the Whitehorse batholith and the Lewes River group. The Whitehorse batholith is commonly a grey coarse-grained hornblende granite and ranges from quartz monzonite to granodiorite to diorite. The Lewes River group contains numerous different rock types, most importantly of which is the limestone group, which is essential in the formation of skarns in the area. A small number of occurrences within the Copper Belt are vein and/or replacement and occur within the Whitehorse batholith granite.
The orebody at the Pueblo deposit occurs within the grey crystalline limestone (Lewes River) intruded by grey hornblende granite (Whitehorse batholith), and are typical contact-metamorphic deposits. The limestone is northerly and northeasterly trending unit up to 800 ft. (244 m) wide. Ore minerals include fine and specular hematite, malachite, azurite, chalcopyrite, bornite, chrysocolla and cuprite. The skarn also presents tremolite, epidote and garnet.
Nearby to the North, scheelite occurs within quartz veins in the granite. The lenticular vein is 110 ft. (34 m) long and 3 ft. (0.9 m) wide at its widest and occurs along a small fault. The vein carries 1-3% bornite and 1-3% scheelite. A second pegmatitic quartz vein stained with copper and has 2% scheelite is located nearby.
The highest production at Pueblo occurred between 1912 and 1920 when 127 000 tonnes of ore was produced at 3.9% Cu.
The orebody at the Pueblo deposit occurs within the grey crystalline limestone (Lewes River) intruded by grey hornblende granite (Whitehorse batholith), and are typical contact-metamorphic deposits. The limestone is northerly and northeasterly trending unit up to 800 ft. (244 m) wide. Ore minerals include fine and specular hematite, malachite, azurite, chalcopyrite, bornite, chrysocolla and cuprite. The skarn also presents tremolite, epidote and garnet.
Nearby to the North, scheelite occurs within quartz veins in the granite. The lenticular vein is 110 ft. (34 m) long and 3 ft. (0.9 m) wide at its widest and occurs along a small fault. The vein carries 1-3% bornite and 1-3% scheelite. A second pegmatitic quartz vein stained with copper and has 2% scheelite is located nearby.
The highest production at Pueblo occurred between 1912 and 1920 when 127 000 tonnes of ore was produced at 3.9% Cu.
Location Map
Last Updated: Apr 15, 2019
Work History
| Year | Work Type | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Geochemistry: Rock | |
| 1990 | Geology: Detailed Bedrock Mapping | |
| 1990 | Other: Prospecting | |
| 1990 | Trenching: Backhoe | |
| 1973 | Geology: Bedrock Mapping | |
| 1973 | Lab Work/Physical Studies: Petrographic | |
| 1967 | Geology: Detailed Bedrock Mapping | |
| 1967 | Ground Geophysics: EM | |
| 1967 | Ground Geophysics: Magnetics | |
| 1967 | Other: Line Cutting | |
| 1966 | Studies: Feasibility | |
| 1964 | Drilling: Diamond |
Regional Geology - Terrane
Group: Intermontane
Affinity: W Laurentia
Name: Stikinia
Realm: peri-Laurentian
Regional Geology - Bedrock
Supergroup:
Group/Suite: Whitehorse
Formation:
Member:
Terrane:
Period Max: Cretaceous
Age Max: 112 MA
Period Min: Cretaceous
Age Min: 105 MA
Rock Major: granodiorite/quartz diorite
Rock Minor:
Reference: Hart & Radloff (1990) - YGS OF 1990-4
Geological Unit (1M): mKW
Geological Unit (250K): mKgW
Assessment Reports that overlap occurrence
| Report Number | Year | Title | Worktypes | Holes Drilled | Meters Drilled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 092922 | 1990 | Fox 1-16 MC Prospecting, Trenching and Geochemistry | Rock - Geochemistry, Detailed Bedrock Mapping - Geology, Prospecting - Other, Backhoe - Trenching | ||
| 062018 | 1973 | Preliminary Report on Geological Control to Ore Distribution in the Whitehorse Copper Belt | Reverse Circulation - Drilling, Bedrock Mapping - Geology, Petrographic - Lab Work/Physical Studies | 665 | 5555 |
| 060011 | 1970 | Geochemical Survey - Summer 1970 | Soil - Geochemistry | ||
| 018884 | 1967 | Geological Mapping, Magnetometer and Electro Magnetic Survey | Detailed Bedrock Mapping - Geology, EM - Ground Geophysics, Magnetics - Ground Geophysics, Line Cutting - Other | ||
| 062227 | 1966 | An Evaluation of the New imperial Mines Ltd. | Feasibility - Studies | ||
| 091123 | 1964 | Summary of assessment work for 316 claims | Diamond - Drilling | 46 | 3652.57 |
Related References
| Number | Title | Page(s) | Document Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARMC004814 | Interpreted geology map - 200' level - 2455 elev. - Pueblo mine | Geoscience Map (Geological - Bedrock) | |
| ARMC004861 | Summary report - Pueblo mine | Report | |
| 1984-1 | The Whitehorse Copper Belt - A Compilation | Open File (Geological - Bedrock) | |
| ARMC014223 | Drillhole location map - Pueblo area | Geoscience Map (General) | |
| ARMC004818 | Exploration composite map - 200' level - Pueblo area | Geoscience Map (General) | |
| ARMC004817 | Long section map - Pueblo mine | Geoscience Map (General) | |
| ARMC004886 | Magnetic survey map - I.P. chargeability contours from 1970 survey - Anomaly 'B' - Pueblo grid | Geophysical Map | |
| ARMC004816 | Summary Re: Pueblo area | Miscellaneous Company Documents | |
| ARMC004815 | Report - Pueblo exploration | Report | |
| ARMC004819 | Correspondence Re: Pueblo area drilling | Miscellaneous Company Documents |
| Citations |
|---|
| Carriere, J J, et al. “Copper Deposits and Occurrences in Yukon Territory.” Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada, 1982., 1981, doi:10.4095/109350. |
| Kindle, E.D., “Summary of Research: Field, 1962”; Geological Survey of Canada, Paper no. 63-1, 1963, https://doi.org/10.4095/121464 (Open Access) |
